Shocking number of young doctors being bullied at work

A shocking report has painted a “disappointing picture” of the conditions facing doctors in training across Australia.

A third of Australia’s new doctors say they have been a victim of or witness to bullying.

A third of Australia’s new doctors say they have been a victim of or witness to bullying, harassment and discrimination by senior colleagues and others at work.

The “disappointing picture” of the conditions facing doctors in training across Australia has prompted the Medical Board of Australia to state that a lot more has to be done to overhaul the culture in medicine.

Despite continued concerns over bullying in the health sector, the majority of 21,000 trainee doctors taking part in the 2020 Medical Training Survey praised the overall quality of the supervision and training they received in the workforce.

But medical trainees reporting bullying at the hands of consultants and specialists, nurses or midwives and even some patients or their family members, Medical Board of Australia Chair Dr Anne Tonkin said agencies across the health sector had serious work ahead of them to improve the culture of medicine.

“There’s a lot going well in medical training in Australia and we’re doing a lot of things right to keep producing doctors who can provide patients with high quality care,” Dr Tonkin said.

“For the future of our profession, we must all listen to what the thousands of trainees have told us and work together to build a culture of respect.

“We must keep our trainees safe and make it safe for them to speak up. An urgent and shared

commitment to this across medicine and the wider health sector will lead to safer patient care.”

Backed by the medical board, the latest survey also revealed two-thirds of medical trainees work 40 hours per week, though most value the extra training opportunities the long hours provide in addition to their studies.